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5 popular options for cloud storage

By Tom Flanagan, Tuesday, May 15, 2012.

<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=83059756">Cloud computing</a> image via Shutterstock.

The explosion of mobile has had a tremendous impact on the real estate industry. Smartphones and tablets allow us to stay connected and access data whether we're in the office, hosting an open house or on the road with clients.

But when it comes to storing data in the cloud, there are many choices available. All of the tech titans -- including Apple, Microsoft and most recently Google -- offer cloud storage products. Google recently introduced its new service, Google Drive, and I've spent the last week putting the app to the test. more...

Betaspring helps startups accelerate launch

By Tom Flanagan, Tuesday, May 1, 2012.

<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=91075409">Ambulatory rocket</a> image via Shutterstock.

At Real Estate Connect New York City in January, Inman News founder and Publisher Brad Inman discussed how our country has transitioned to a cottage economy, and why small is beautiful again.

There is a wonderful opportunity for entrepreneurs and small companies with limited resources to innovate, disrupt and make a big difference. Case in point: The popular photo-sharing startup Instagram, a company with 13 employees, was recently acquired by Facebook for $1 billion, while earlier this year, former photography behemoth Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. more...

Link building for real estate

By Tom Flanagan, Tuesday, April 17, 2012.

Image via <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-190570p1.html">VladKol</a>/<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com">Shutterstock</a>

The Web was built on links.

As Julie Joyce, director of operations for Link Fish Media, points out in "Why Links Matter," hyperlinks "were the main method of building the Internet and connecting sites through HTML, allowing people and bots to move around and find what they needed. They were like any other citations, methods of getting additional information by going somewhere else." more...

Hop on the bandwidth bandwagon

By Tom Flanagan, Tuesday, April 3, 2012.

<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-699712p1.html" target=blank>Cloud computing image</a> via Shutterstock.

I attended the annual Leading Real Estate Companies of the World conference last week in Orlando, Fla., and participated in a handful of cloud-computing workshops.

Workshop topics included private vs. public cloud solutions, choosing the right communications platform for your brokerage, cloud file storage, and Web-based transaction management software. more...

5 reasons to move to the 'cloud'

By Tom Flanagan, Tuesday, March 20, 2012.

<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-540784p1.html" target=blank>Cloud computing image</a> via Shutterstock.

There are so many variables a brokerage must take into consideration when managing a communications platform: Things like denial of service attacks, spam protection and security can be daunting, even to the seasoned server geek.

Managing antiquated hardware and software can be pretty overwhelming for an organization. If your network and infrastructure is feeling the grind and stress of today's digital challenges, it may be time to migrate to a so-called "cloud" solution -- outsourcing your servers and/or online services to a remote host. more...

3 tips to get the most out of Google FeedBurner

By Tom Flanagan, Tuesday, March 6, 2012.

There is always a lot of discussion regarding how to develop killer content and how to integrate sexy technologies such as a responsive design or HTML5 video into your real estate website or blog.

And rightfully so, as these things are really cool. However, optimizing the RSS feed, a far less glamorous feature of your publishing platform, can add tremendous value to your email marketing, usability and search engine optimization. more...

NAR's Realtor.org gets 'responsive'

By Tom Flanagan, Tuesday, February 21, 2012.

<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-454414p1.html" target=blank>Tablet computing image</a> via Shutterstock.com.

I hosted a conversation with Mark Lesswing and Chad Curry from the National Association of Realtors during a session at the Real Estate Connect event last month in New York City. The workshop, "Updating Your Digital Presence for the Post-PC World," covered a variety of intriguing topics, including responsive Web design -- which auto-sizes a site to fit on the screen of any device accessing the site.

Mark Lesswing is the chief technology officer at the National Association of Realtors and is one of the industry's top tech thought leaders. more...

HTML5 video for real estate: it's here, and so are consumers

By Tom Flanagan, Tuesday, February 7, 2012.

<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-348181p1.html">Video stream image</a> via Shutterstock.com.

John Hrvatin, program manager lead for Microsoft's Internet Explorer, says the move toward a "plug-in-free Web" is already in progress.

"Any site that uses plug-ins needs to understand what ... customers experience when browsing plug-in-free. Lots of Web browsing today happens on devices that simply don't support plug-ins. Even browsers that do support plug-ins offer many ways to run plug-in-free." more...

Real estate video: moving beyond YouTube

By Tom Flanagan, Tuesday, January 24, 2012.

<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-222367p1.html" target=blank>Camera lens image</a> via Shutterstock.com.

The Real Estate Connect conference is always a great event to learn the latest and greatest technology in real estate, cultivate relationships and to spark inspiration.

Brad Inman's keynote was excellent this year. He discussed how our country has transitioned to a "cottage economy," and small is beautiful again. There is a wonderful opportunity to be creative and to innovate, Inman noted. more...

A quick guide to cloud computing

By Tom Flanagan, Tuesday, January 10, 2012.

Image via <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-540784p1.html">Lightspring</a>/<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com">Shutterstock</a>

I'll be moderating one of my favorite workshop topics this week during the Real Estate Connect conference in New York City: cloud computing. The session, "Transitioning Your Brokerage to the Cloud," will include panelists Jamie Goldman of ERA Franchise Systems LLC, Jack Miller of The GoodLife Team, and Monty Smith of NRT LLC.

Cloud computing is a big buzzword -- especially as the need to access data and applications across all of our favorite devices becomes more prevalent. However, for many real estate professionals, cloud computing remains a nebulous technology. What exactly is it? more...

Top 10 real estate tech trends for 2012

By Tom Flanagan, Wednesday, December 28, 2011.

Image via <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-318136p1.html">Aromant</a>/<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com">Shutterstock</a>

Technology changes so fast it's impossible to predict what will actually happen in 2012. However, it's always fun to analyze the data, look at trends and observe consumer behavior. The real estate industry will certainly continue to wrestle with issues such as data and syndication. Daily deals will come and go, and open source applications will have their place in our business, especially WordPress.

Here are my top 10 real estate tech trends for 2012: more...

Responsive Web design: a flexible solution for real estate

By Tom Flanagan, Tuesday, December 13, 2011.

<a href="<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-632830p1.html" target=blank>Tablet PC image</a> via Shutterstock.

In my last two articles, I discussed how to mobilize your WordPress website, and the future of mobile apps. Native apps and Web apps share a symbiotic relationship on a mobile device, and each provides the end user with a unique experience.

However, there is no question that the mobile Web is tremendously popular. In fact, according to the Adobe "Mobile Experience Survey," 81 percent of users prefer mobile sites to apps for researching prices. more...

3 free WordPress plugins to 'mobilize' your website

By Tom Flanagan, Tuesday, November 29, 2011.

<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-4961p1.html">J. Henning Buchholz</a>/<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/?cr=00&pl=edit-00">Shutterstock.com</a>

In my last article, "The future of mobile apps and the mobile Web," I discussed the importance of having a mobile-friendly website and blog. Delivering a quality mobile experience is crucial for businesses today.

According to a Compuware report, "What Users Want from Mobile," 40 percent of consumers have turned to a competitor's website after a bad mobile experience. more...

The future of mobile apps and the mobile Web

By Tom Flanagan, Tuesday, November 15, 2011.

<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-632830p1.html" target=blank>violetkaipa</a>/<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com" target=blank>Shutterstock</a>

On Nov. 9, 2011, Adobe finally announced that it would no longer develop its Flash Player for mobile browsers.

Danny Winokur, vice president and general manager, interactive development at Adobe, stated, "HTML5 is now universally supported on major devices, in some cases exclusively. This makes HTML5 the best solution for creating and deploying content in the browser across multiple platforms." more...

A recap of Agent Reboot

By Tom Flanagan, Tuesday, November 1, 2011.

<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-472489p1.html">valdis torms</a>/<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com">Shutterstock</a>

I attended my first Agent Reboot event in Boston last week and was impressed with the amount of content packed into one day. The workshop had some real take-home value for real estate pros, and I'd like to share some of the key takeaways.

Apps

Mobile Internet usage will surpass desktop Internet usage by 2014. One of my favorite things about attending a conference is discovering new apps, and Chris Smith, chief evangelist for Inman News, covered a bunch of them in his presentation, "20 Mobile Tools That Will Make You Stand Out." more...

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